Not a jejune relationship of one thing to another

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The Order of Things Fr. James V. Schall, S.J.

James Schall, the well-known author and professor at Georgetown University, inquires about the differing orders found in the cosmos, the human mind, the city, the human corpus, and seeks to reflect on the unity of these orders.

In a world in which the presence of mind and order are denied, presumably in the name of science, in favor of chance explanations of why things are as they are, it is surprising to find that, in area after area that is open to the human mind, we find a persistent order revealed. At first sight, this recurrence can be explained by chance occurrence, but after a point, the sense that behind things outside of our theories there is, in fact, an order. This order can be traced in the various areas that are open to the human mind. Aquinas had said that the order within the cosmos pointed to an order outside of it, since the cosmos cannot be the cause of its own internal order.

Philosophers have long inquired about the curious fact that the order of things implies not only a jejune relationship of one thing to another, but a hint that the universe is created in a certain abundance. Why is the universe, and the things within it, not only ordered but, within the order and above it, a beautiful order? Not only is there an order in things but the human mind seems attuned to this order as something it delights in discovering. This relationship implies that there is some correspondence between mind and reality almost as if they were intended to go with one another. The Order of Things explores these questions. It relies on common sense and the experience available to everyone. It concludes that it requires more credulity to disbelieve in order than to experience it. Finally, it wonders that if there is a source of order, what it is like? In this sense, it is not surprising that the revelation of the Godhead is itself in terms of an inner order of Persons. from Insight Scoop The Ignatius Press Blog